Agenda - 04-07-20; 6-d - Approval of Budget Amendment #7-A for the Transfer of Funds from the Orange County Local Rent Supplement Program to the Risk Mitigation and Housing Displacement Fund

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5 6 BACKGROUND: The Orange County Board of County Commissioners, on June 19, 2018, approved an initial $100,000 appropriation for a new local voucher program known as the Orange County Local Rent Supplement Program. In addition, the HOME Consortium, now known as the Local Government Affordable Housing Collaborative and consisting of the towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough, as well as Orange County, approved a recommendation to award $139,613 in FY 2018-19 HOME funds to be used for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance. Of the aforementioned amount, $114,613 would serve as leveraged resources for the new OC Local Rent Supplement Program. The remaining amount of$25,000 will be used for the Rapid Re- Housing Program. The federal Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) approved the FY 2018-2019 HOME grant award on October 3, 2018, and the grant agreement was fully executed on October 10, 2018 by the County Manager. The new OC Local Rent Supplement Program (OC-LRSP) in many aspects mirrors the federally-funded Housing Choice Voucher(HCV) Program. However, it is also designed to allow for flexibility in meeting local identified housing needs. For the full program overview and proposed guidelines of the new OC-LRSP, see Attachment 1. In addition, a draft implementation timeline and a copy of HUD's FY 2019 Fair Market Rents (FMRs) are also included as Attachments 2 and 3, respectively. The listed rents serve as the payment standards for the rental subsidies offered under the new program. It should be noted that there has been an increase in the FMRs in FY 2019 as opposed to those originally Sherrill Hampton thanked the BOCC for supporting this program, and said it will be another tool in the housing toolbox. She reviewed the following PowerPoint presentation: PART I: OVERVIEW OF THE NEW ORANGE COUNTY LOCAL RENT SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM [OC-LRSP] A. OVERVIEW The Local Rent Supplement Program is a new rental subsidy program approved by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners on June 19, 2018 with an initial injection of capital in the amount of$100,000. The County's HOME Consortium, the Local Government Affordable Housing Collaborative, is providing $114, 613 in FY 2018-2019 HOME funds for tenant-based rental assistance as leveraged funds to assist in the implementation of the OC-LRSP. The County will enter into an agreement with the Orange County Housing Authority (OCHA)to administer the new program. The OC-LRSP provides monthly rental subsidies that cover the difference between the rents that low-income families and individuals can afford to pay and the actual monthly cost of rent for the unit. The new program addresses one of the priority housing needs identified in Orange County's FY 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan, as well as the recently released Affordable Housing Coalition's 2018 Affordable Housing Summit Report. The new program is designed to complement the federally-funded Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program, which is administered by OCHA and will assist families and individuals who earn 50% or less of the Area median Income with priority going to those who are very low income (30% of AMI or less). The program promotes community-wide planning and strategic use of resources to address the jurisdiction's unmet needs and to narrow the gap in benefits and services received by cost-burdened families.